History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 11

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998

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robes in the air in token of a peaceful disposition. A council was arranged and the peace pipe smoked. Hunt told the chiefs that he was pre- pared to force his way up river and they believed him and said that they only intended to prevent the taking of firearms to the Rees, with whom they were at war, and that they were now con- vinced that the white men were not going to do anything of that kind anyhow, and that they might pass unmolested. Hunt thanked them for their condescension and gave them some tobacco and went on his way.

The next afternoon they arrived at the Big Bend and on the morning of June 2d, as they were proceeding to make the long circuit, they discovered a party of Indians on the hills making peaceful overtures, but upon approaching them they seemed stricken with terror and supplicated mercy. They proved to be the chiefs of the band who had stopped Crooks and Mclellan two years before and they now ran to greet these men as if they were long lost brothers. They smoked the peace pipe and Hunt gave them some presents and they went on their way. Soon two others appeared and demanded presents and Hunt per- emptorily turned down the request and threat- ened if any others of the tribe came begging for presents to treat them as enemies. They left in a furious passion. Fearing that he might have roused them to resentment, Hunt arranged his fleet so as to keep watch of both shores and they proceeded on their way. About four o'clock that afternoon Hunt's big boat ran in back of a sand- bar and was compelled to retreat to get into the open river. Just at the moment when he dis- covered he was in a pocket he was appalled to find the river hills above him covered with Indians. His other boats were some distance above, but discovering his apparently desperate situation, hurried to his assistance : in the mean- time the Indians flocked to the river bank at the mouth of the pocket in which Hunt was encaged. When he approached the Indians all cause of alarm was at once dissipated, for the Indians showed their friendliness by every method within . their power. They were a war party of Rees and Mandans in pursuit of the Sioux, but they now

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

gave up their belligerent intentions and resolved to return to the Ree towns, where they hoped to secure from the Astorians arms and ammunition which would put their enemies more readily in their power. Soon after whites and Indians went into camp together. The next morning the Rees set off for home, which was three days' distant, to inform their people of the approach of the boats. Hardly had the Rees departed until the party of Manuel Lisa appeared in sight, for, do his utmost, Mr. Hunt could not keep in the same class with the fleet Spaniard. The whole number in Manuel's party was twenty-six, including Mr. Henry Breckenridge, who came along as a sight- seer, and who later wrote an entertaining account of the voyage.

According to Irving, Crooks and Mclellan held a secret grudge against Lisa, believing that some of their enterprises had been ruined by his plotting and they had resolved to shoot him on sight and it required all of Hunt's diplomacy to prevent the fiery Scotchman, Mclellan, from taking summary vengeance upon the Spaniard. As it was they greeted Lisa civilly and they con- tinued to travel together for a couple of days. The Astorians, however, believing that all danger from the Sioux was over, feared that Lisa would hasten on and set the Rees against them and Mc- Lellan swore if Lisa showed bad faith in any way that he would shoot him instantly. Lisa, how- ever, showed no intention of leaving them. On June 5th, while encamped at Pierre, an outbreak occurred which, though more amusing than otherwise in the outcome, indicated the feeling and how easily bloodshed might have been pro- voked. Lisa's camp was on the north side of the river at approximately the point where the stock- yards at Pierre are now located, while Hunt was camped on the south side nearly opposite. It was a rainy day and both parties had been compelled to remain in camp owing to the weather. For these particulars we are indebted to the story told by Breckenridge, who locates the respective camps with relation to the Teton and the point of the bluff at Pierre. Irving tells the story of the fracas as follows: On the third day an explosion took place and it was produced

by no less a personage than Pierre Dorion, the half-breed interpreter. This worthy had been obliged to steal a march from St. Louis to avoid being arrested for an old whiskey debt which he owed to the Missouri Fur Company and by which Mr. Lisa had hoped to prevent his enlistment in Mr. Hunt's expedition. Dorion, since the arrival of Lisa, had kept aloof and regarded him with stillen and dogged aspect. On the 5th day of July (June) the two parties were brought to a halt by a heavy rain and remained in camp about one hundred yards apart. In the course of the day Lisa undertook to tamper with the faith of Pierre Dorion and, inviting him on board his boat. regaled him with his favorite whiskey. When he thought him sufficiently mellowed he proposed to him to quit the service of his new employers and return to his allegiance. Finding he could not be moved by soft words, he called to mind his old debt to the company and threat- ened to carry him off by force in payment of it. The mention of this debt always stirred up the gall of Pierre Dorion, bringing with it the memory of the whiskey extortion. A violent quarrel arose between him and Lisa and he left the boat in high dudgeon. His first step was to repair to the tent of Mr. Hunt and reveal the attempt that had been made to shake his faith. While Dorion was talking Lisa entered the tent . under the pretext that he had come to borrow a towing line. High words instantly ensued be- tween him and Dorion, which ended in the, half- breed dealing him a blow. A quarrel in the Indian country, however, is not settled by fisti- cuffs. Lisa immediately rushed to his boat for a weapon. Dorion snatched up a pair of pistols belonging to Mr. Hunt and placed himself in battle array. The noise aroused the camp and every one pressed to know the cause. Lisa now re-appeared with a knife stuck in his girdle. Mr. Breckenridge, who had tried in vain to mollify his ire, accompanied him to the scene of action. Pierre Dorion's pistols gave him the advantage and he maintained a most warlike attitude. Meantime Crooks and Mclellan had heard of the fray and were cach eager to take the quarrel in their own hands. A scene of uproar and hubbub

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ensued which defies description. Mclellan

all old and new grudges together had he not been would have brought his rifle into play and settled

restrained by Mr. Hunt. That gentleman acted as moderator, endeavoring to prevent a general melee. In the midst of the brawl, however, an expression was made use of by Lisa derogatory

to Mr. Hunt's honor and in an instant the latter's

tranquil spirit was in a flame. He now became

as eager for a fight as any on the ground and

challenged Lisa to settle the dispute on the spot

with pistols. Lisa repaired to his boat to arm

himself for the deadly feud. He was ac- companied by Messrs. Bradbury and Brecken- ridge, who were novices in Indian life and chivalry of the frontier and had no relish for scenes of blood or brawl. By their earnest medi- ation the quarrel was, with great difficulty, brought to a close without bloodshed; but the leaders of the rival camps separated in anger and all friendly intercourse ceased between them."

The next morning found both parties again enroute, skirting along opposite sides of the river and jealously watching each other, Hunt keeping slightly ahead lest Manuel should get away to the Rees and set that erratic people against the Astorians. Thus, save for the stoppage of the fleet by the passage of a vast herd of buffaloes across the river somewhere above Cheyenne river, they reached Grand River island without incident. The lower (island) settlement of the Rees appears to have disappeared by this time, for neither Irving, Breckenridge nor Bradbury make any mention of it. It is noteworthy in this connection that no one of these writers mentions a single trading house located within South Dakota on this trip and it is possible that not one existed, though there is reason to believe that there were houses at the James river, for the Yankton trade and that the Pawnee house was still standing. When the two parties arrived at the island, no communication having passed be- tween them after leaving Pierre, Manuel sent Breckenridge to Hunt's camp to make arrange- ments for meeting the Rees with due ceremony, but the Astorians could not sufficiently over- come their resentment and suspicions to meet

him civilly, though Breckenridge gave them every assurance that the Spaniard was acting in good faith. Communication having been es- tablished with the Rees, it was arranged that both parties should go into the village at the same time. Accordingly they moved up and camped on the east side, opposite the towns, to await the invitation of the chiefs to come over.

At this time, according to Breckenridge, Left- Hand was the hereditary chief and Big Man, a ferocious-looking giant, was the war chief,

while Grey Eyes held subsidiary rank. The council was presided over by Left-Hand. Gar- reau, whom Lewis and Clarke found living with the Rees and who at the time of the present council had been with them twenty years, and is described by Irving as a haphazard wight of Gallic origin, and had a Ree squaw and a troop of piebald children, officiated as interpreter. Garreau was undoubtedly the first permanent and continuous white inhabitant of South Dakota. His first name has not come down to us in any of the records, but several of his descendants are still living among the Rees at Fort Berthold, North Dakota.

Presently Left-Hand came out on the river bank and, in a voice plainly audible across the half mile of water, invited the visitors over to the council. At two o'clock Hunt, McKenzie and Mclellan, representing the Astorians, and Lisa and a few of his men stepped into their re- spective boats and were rowed over to the Rees and were received with grave courtesy by Left- Hand, who conducted them to the council lodge, in one of the big earth-covered houses, such as were described in the chapter devoted to the trip of Lewis and Clarke. Fourteen white men in the two parties and about twenty Rees sat in the council. A unique feature of the council was a sort of public crier who sat at the opening in the roof of the lodge and shouted out each step of the proceedings for the benefit of the villagers who stood about. They smoked the pipe in usual form. Left-Hand made a speech of welcome and Lisa rose to reply. The Astorians were on nettles, but he speedily put them at ease. He explained his own purpose and then, turning

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to Hunt, said that he represented an entirely different party bound for the Pacific; but, said he, "though we are separate parties, we make but one common cause when the safety of either is concerned. Any injury or insult offered to them I shall consider as done to myself and shall re- sent it accordingly. I trust, therefore, that you will treat them with the same friendship that you have always manifested for me, doing everything in your power to serve them and help them on their way." Naturally this courteous treatment made a good impression and served to mollify the relations existing between the parties. Mr. Hunt then spoke of his purpose and of his desire to trade with them for horses to transport his party and wares across the mountains.

Left-Hand, in reply, pledged his friendship and aid to the traders, but said it would be im- possible to spare as many horses as the Astorians wanted ; whereupon the versatile and ingenious Grey Eyes declared that the difficulty could be readily bridged, for if the Rees did not have in stock, and to spare, as many horses as Mr. Hunt desired, they could easily steal enough to make up the deficiency. Upon the suggestion of this honest expedient Left-Hand thought they could accommodate the necessities of the Astorians and the council adjourned and the traders moved across to the west side of the river, or rather to the north side, for, at the point where the Ree towns were located, the Missouri river runs almost directly west. If the reader will refer to the map of South Dakota he will observe that a few miles north of the mouth of Grand river the Missouri turns sharply from a southeast course directly west. It was on this westward tangent, facing south, that the two Ree towns sat side by side. The traders' camp was pitched just below the towns and trading began. For convenience Lisa took a consignment of his ware to the lodge ci Left-Hand and Hunt set up shop in Big Man's front parlor. Irving says : "The village soon pre- sented the appearance of a busy fair, and as horses were in demand the adjacent plain was like the vicinity of a Tartar encampment. Horses were put through all of their paces and horsemen were careering about with all the grace and dex-

terity for which the Ricaras are noted. As soon as a horse was purchased his tail was cropped to distinguish it from the Indian property, for the Rees never mutilated their horses in any way. More than any other commodity the Indians wished guns and ammunition in trade, for they were, it will be recalled, at war with the Sioux, and while the Astorians were here there were many alarms that the Sioux were coming, which threw the whole camp into indescribable con- fusion. On the 9th of July a large war party returned, having the day before met and de- feated a large war party of Sioux, with a loss of but two of their own number. No one of the pretentious cities of today could welcome home from the wars her chosen regiments of sons with more pomp and circumstance, more of feasting and rejoicing, than did these primitive South Dakotans the return of their victorious braves." As this celebration occurred on our own soil it may be proper to recite here what actually took place: "On the 9th of July, just before day- break, a great noise and vociferation was heard in the village. This being the usual hour for an Indian attack and surprise, and the Sioux being known to be in the neighborhood, the camp was instantly on the alert. As the day broke Indians were descried in considerable numbers on the bluffs three or four miles down the river. The noise and agitation in the village continued. The tops of the lodges were crowded with the in- habitants, all earnestly looking to the hills and keeping up a vehement chattering. Presently a warrior galloped past the camp (of Mr. Hunt ) toward the village and in a little while the legions began to pour forth. The truth of the matter was now ascertained. The Indians on the distant hills were three hundred Aricara braves return- ing from a foray. They had met the war party of Sioux who had so long been hovering about the neighborhood, had fought them the day be- fore-that is July 8, 1811-had killed several and defeated the rest, with the loss of but two of their own men and about a dozen wounded ; and they were now halting at a distance until their comrades in the village should come forth to meet them and swell the parade of their

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

triumphal entry. The warrior who had galloped past the camp was the leader of the party hasten- ing home to give tidings of his victory. Prepara- tions were now made for a great martial cere- mony. All of the finery and equipments of the warriors were sent forth to them that they might appear to the greatest advantage. Those too who had remained at home tasked their wardrobes and toilets to do honor to the occasion. The Rees generally go nearly naked, but, like all savages, they have their gala dress, of which they are not a little vain. This usually consists of a gray surcoat and leggings of the dressed skin of the antelope, resembling chamois leather, and em- broidered with porcupine quills brilliantly dyed. A buffalo robe is thrown over the right shoulder and across the left is a quiver of arrows. They wear gay coronets of feathers, particularly those of the swan, but the feathers of the black eagle are considered most worthy, being considered a sacred bird among the Ree warriors. He who has killed an enemy in his own land is entitled to drag at his heels a fox skin attached to each moccasin and he who has slain a grizzly bear wears a necklace of his claws, the most glorious trophy that a hunter can exhibit. An Indian toilet is an operation of some toil and trouble : the warrior often has to paint himself from head to foot and is extremely capricious and difficult to please as to the hideous distribution of streaks and colors. A great part of the morning, there- fore, passed away before there was any sign of the distant pageant. In the meantime a profound stillness reigned over the village; most of the in- habitants had gone forth; others remained in mute expectation. All sports and occupations were suspended, excepting that in the lodges the painstaking squaws were silently busied in pre- paring the repasts for the warriors. It was near noon that the mingled sound of voices and rude music, faintly heard from the distance, gave notice that the procession was on the march. The old men, and such of the squaws as could leave their employment, hastened forth to meet it. In a little while it emerged from behind a hill and had a wild and picturesque appearance as it came over the summit in measured step and to

the cadence of songs and savage instruments ; the warlike standards and trophies flaunting aloft and the feathers and paint and silver ornaments of the warriors glaring and glittering in the sunlight. The pageant had really something chivalrous in its arrangement. The Rees are divided into several bands, each bearing the name of some animal or bird, as the buffalo, the bear, the dog, or the pheasant. The present party con- sisted of the four bands named, of which the dog was the most esteemed in war, being composed of young men under thirty and noted for prowess. It is engaged on the most desperate occasions. The bands marched in separate bodies under their respective leaders. The warriors on foot came first, in platoons of ten or twelve abreast; then the horsemen. Each band bore as an ensign a spear or bow decorated with beads, porcupine quills and painted feathers. Each bore its tro- phies of scalps, elevated on poles, their long black locks streaming in the wind. Each was ac- companied by its rude music and minstrelsy. In this way the procession extended for a quarter of a mile. The warriors were variously armed, some with guns, others with bows and arrows and war-clubs; all had shields of buffalo hide, a kind of defense generally used by Indians of the open prairie, who have not the covert of trees and forests to protect them. They were painted in the most savage style. Some had the stamp of a red hand across their mouths to indicate that they had drunk the life blood of an enemy. As they drew near to the village the old men and the women began to meet them, and now a scene ensued that proved the fallacy of the old fable of Indian apathy and stoicism. Parents and chil- dren, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, met them with the most rapturous expressions of joy ; while wailings and lamentations were heard from the relatives of the killed and wounded. The procession, however, moved on with slow and measured step, in cadence to the solemn chant, and the warriors maintained their fixed and stern demeanor. Between two of the principal chiefs rode a young man who had dis- tinguished himself in the battle. He was severely wounded so as with difficulty to keep on his

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

horse, but he presented a serene and steadfast countenance, as if perfectly unharmed. His mother had heard of his condition. She broke through the throng and, rushing up, threw her arms around him and wept aloud. He kept up the spirit and demeanor of a warrior to the last. but expired shortly after he had reached his home.

"The village was now a scene of the utmost festivity and triumph. The banners and trophies and scalps and painted shields were elevated on poles near the lodges. There were war feasts and scalp dances, with warlike songs and savage music ; all of the inhabitants were arrayed in their festal dresses; while the old heralds went round from lodge to lodge, promulgating with loud voices the events of the battle and the ex- ploits of the various warriors.

"Such was the boisterous revelry of the village," Irving continues, "but sounds of another kind were heard on the surrounding hills ; piteous wailings of the women who had retired hither to mourn in darkness and solitude for those who had fallen in battle. There the poor mother of the youthful warrior who had returned home in triumph, but to die, gave full vent to the anguish of a mother's heart. How much does this cus- tom of the Indian women, of repairing to the hilltops in the night and pouring forth their wailings for the dead call to mind the beautiful and affecting passage of scripture : 'In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping and great mourning ; Rachel weeping for her chil- dren, and would not be comforted because they were not.'"

Those of the readers of this history who re- call the great festival throughout South Dakota upon the return of the First Regiment from the Philippine war will appreciate the fact that it was entirely in line with a time-honored precedent among the people of the South Dakota land.

Mr. Hunt finally exhausted the Ree horse market ; whether or not it had been replenished by Grey Eyes' expedient the historian does not state, but when it appeared that the Rees actually could not supply him with enough horses for the journey his Spanish associate

promptly came to his relief. Hunt would of course have to abandon his boats and Lisa pro- posed to trade his horses for them. He would be compelled to go to his post at the Mandan villages, one hundred fifty miles above, to buy the horses to effect the trade and the arrangement was effected. Lisa, accompanied by Bracken- ridge and Nuttall, left by boat for the Mandans on June 19th and on the same day Crooks and Bradbury started by land ; the latter party arrived at the Mandan post late at night on the 22d and Lisa got there on the 26th. The next day Crooks started back with the stipulated number of horses and arrived safely with them at Hunt's camp. Lisa got back to the Rees on July 7th.

July 17th Bradbury and Brackenridge set out for St. Louis, where they arrived August Ist without serious hindrance. It is very largely through the journals which they kept that the history of South Dakota is enriched by the story of the events recorded in this chapter.

The 18th of July, with grave apprehensions and awful doubts both in the minds of the part- ners and of the men, the Astorians struck camp and left the Missouri for their perilous overland trip to the Pacific. They passed over the inter- vening highland to the Oak Creek valley and followed its beautiful course for some distance, but finding that it led too much to the northwest they crossed over the divide to the Grand river. There were in the party sixty-four persons, in- cluding the Dorion family and the new in- terpreter to the Crows, whom they had picked up at the Ree village. This man was Edward Rose, then and for many years well known on the river. We shall know more of him in the progress of this story. They had eighty-two horses, but so enormous was the quantity of merchandise and supplies which they carried that only six of them could be used for saddle pur- poses. On the 23rd they fell in with a camp of friendly Cheyennes on Grand river, with whom they remained until August 6th; and from whom they obtained thirty-six additional horses. They also made, while stopping here, a large supply of buffalo meat. The additional horses outfitted each of the six regular hunters with an animal and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

provided one horse for every two of the rest of the party so that by the familiar "ride and tie" process they got along with reasonable progress. Ramsey Crooks was taken very ill soon after leaving the Missouri and for a long period had to be carried on a litter swung between two horses and shaded by a canopy of boughs. It is a testimonial to the wonderful vitality of his con- stitution that he survived. They seemed to have crossed the Grand presently and dropped down to the Moreau, but later they got back onto the south fork of the Grand and, proceeding west- ward, passed through the Short Pine hills, which they mistook for the Black hills, and left the state a few miles south of the present location of Nashville. Captain Chittenden fixes the point at forty-five degrees twenty minutes north latitude. It seems to have been the 15th of August when they left the state. Mr. Hunt calculated they had traveled two hundred and fifty miles since leaving the Missouri, which, considering the in- direct course pursued, is probably about right. By a direct course the distance is not more than one hundred seventy-five miles. They had put in sixteen days of actual travel, averaging about fifteen miles per day. While they were still in South Dakota Pierre Dorion, Alex. Carson and another hunter named Gardpie, sent out on a hunt, failed to return to camp. Several days elapsed and no word having been received, the party became much concerned for their safety and traveled very slowly and scouted the region thoroughly. On August 13th, when camped at the foot of the Short Pine hills on the east side, the stragglers returned. They had become be- wildered and were quite exhausted.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 11

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 998

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998